Ex-communist Europe

Anti-Semitism in Hungary

Márton's list

Nov 28th 2012, 15:46by A.L.B. | BUDAPEST

LISTS have a terrible resonance for Hungary’s Jews. When the Nazis invaded in March 1944 they used the lists of members of the Jewish community to organise one of the swiftest and most efficient episodes of the Holocaust. With the ready assistance of Hungarian officials and the Gendarmerie 430,000 Jews were deported to Auschwitz in a few weeks, most to their deaths. On some days the gas chambers and crematoria processed more than 1,000 people an hour.

So when Márton Gyöngyösi (pictured above), a member of the far-right Jobbik party, called in parliament for Hungarian Jews to be catalogued and screened as potential national security risks, it triggered a wave of revulsion and condemnation. “I think now is the time to assess…how many people of Jewish origin there are here, and especially in the Hungarian parliament and the Hungarian government, who represent a certain national security risk for Hungary," said Mr Gyöngyösi. In his point of view the screening was necessary as Hungary had sided too readily with Israel during the recent conflict in Gaza.

Jobbik is not a marginal force. The party is the third-largest in Hungary, with more than 40 MPs. Although it has failed to capitalise on the country’s economic crisis, its support remains steady at around 10%. Fidesz, the ruling populist party, wants those votes. Cynics might argue that this explains the government’s somewhat lacklustre response, which consisted mainly of another brief statement of condemnation, which resembles every other statement made on these occasions. Képviselő Funky, a well-read blog, points out the similarities: (link in Hungarian)

The American embassy showed more fire with a powerful denunciation of Mr Gyöngyösi's statements in parliament, calling the Jobbik MP’s words “atrocious and deeply offensive”. The embassy called on the “highest-ranking” officials of the Hungarian government to “immediately and harshly” condemn the Jobbik MP’s words.

The opposition reacted in a more spirited way too. Several MPs wore yellow stars in parliament in solidarity with Hungary’s Jewish community, including members of the Democratic Coalition, a left-liberal grouping which has been one of the staunchest defenders of minority rights and István Ujhelyi, a Socialist MP and deputy speaker of Parliament. Mr Újhely said: “As far as I know I do not have Jewish ancestry but should Jobbik uncover that I have such roots, I will be proud of them.”

Mr Gyöngyösi, 35, is a far cry from the stereotype of the ultra-right skinhead or boot-boy. He is well-dressed, articulate, speaks fluent English and is the son of a diplomat. He grew up in the Middle East and Asia, graduated from Trinity College, Dublin, with a degree in business and political science and worked as a tax advisor for KPMG.

Jobbik officials have for years claimed that the party is not anti-Semitic and welcomes all Hungarians who stand up for their country. But earlier this year another Jobbik MP caused outrage when he gave a lengthy speech in Parliament reviving the false blood libel, that Jews had murdered a young Christian girl in 1882 to draw her blood. The speech was made on the eve of the Jewish festival of Passover, which has been throughout history the time to whip up anti-Jewish sentiment.

Mr Gyöngyösi later backtracked and said he believed that only those Jews who were dual Hungarian-Israeli citizens should be screened. “I apologise to my Jewish compatriots for my equivocal statement,” he said.

Either way, Jobbik is out of tune with its potential allies across Europe. As Joshua Keating at Foreign Policy points out, the “old-school anti-Semitism” of the Hungarian right is no longer in fashion with parties of the far right across Europe. Geert Wilders’ Freedom Party is a staunch supporter of Israel. Even the British National Party, an ally of Jobbik, has made several, albeit unconvincing, attempts to remodel itself as welcoming Jewish members.

The National Front in France is wooing Jewish voters too. Last year Ron Prosor, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, attended an event at the UN and had his picture taken with Marine Le Pen, daughter of the front’s founder. Israeli diplomats later said that Mr Prosor had misunderstood who was hosting the event. There is no likelihood of Ilan Mor, Israel’s ambassador to Hungary, ever making a similar mistake in Budapest.